Inside Alcatraz: My Time on the Rock

Each day we saw the outside world in all its splendour, and each day that view served as a reminder that we had wasted and ruined our lives. Jim Quillen, AZ586 - a runaway, problem child and petty thief - was jailed several times before his twentieth birthday. In August 1942, after escaping from San Quentin, he was arrested on the run and sentenced to forty-five years in prison, and later transferred to Alcatraz.

Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years

Alcatraz - A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years is a comprehensive reference that breaks away from traditional tourist-style books. This audiobook is the result of years of intensive research. Historian Michael Esslinger thoroughly details the prominent events, inmates, and life inside the most infamous prison in American history. His research includes hundreds of hours examining actual Alcatraz inmate files.

Escape from Alcatraz

Mobster Al "Scarface" Capone, "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud, aka the Birdman: only the most violent, desperate criminals went to Alcatraz Island, called "The Rock" and known for its harsh conditions. This gripping true crime classic, originally written in 1963 and newly reissued, tells the story of life on The Rock and of 14 ingenious escape attempts by the prisoners.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Why we think it’s a great listen:Seabiscuit was a runaway success, and Hillenbrand’s done it again with another true-life account about beating unbelievable odds. On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared.....

My Happy Days in Hollywood: A Memoir

Once called a legend in his own time slot, Garry Marshall has been among the most successful writers, directors, and producers in America for more than five decades. In My Happy Days in Hollywood, Marshall takes us on a journey from his stickball-playing days in the Bronx to his time at the helm of some of the most popular television series and movies of all time, sharing the joys and challenges of working with the Fonz and the young Julia Roberts, the “street performer” Robin Williams, and the young Anne Hathaway, among many others.

I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend

Martin Short takes you on a rich, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking ride through his life and times, from his early years in Toronto as a member of the fabled improvisational troupe Second City to the all-American comic big time of Saturday Night Live and memorable roles in movies such as ¡Three Amigos! and Father of the Bride.

Ty Brady says:"This is what audio books were made for!"

Publisher's Summary

This special audiobook edition has been completely revised and updated with new content including author interviews with James "Whitey" Bulger and a new chapter on Mickey Cohen.

Note: This audiobook contains graphic depictions of crime and prison violence. Alcatraz Island was home to some of the nation's most notorious criminals.

Prisoners include Al Capone, Mickey Cohen, James "Whitey" Bulger, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud - the Birdman of Alcatraz, Alvin Karpis, Henri Young, John and Clarence Anglin, and Roy Gardner. In Michael Esslinger's latest book, Letters from Alcatraz, the prisoners' stories come to life in their own words. With over 20 years of research, Esslinger, author of Alcatraz: Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years, has salvaged and compiled an extraordinary collection of inmates' letters, many never before published. Letters From Alcatraz includes a foreword by former Alcatraz Officer Larry Quilligan and over 125 letters and original correspondence from inmates both on and off the Rock. Letters From Alcatraz is an epic exploration of a secret cloak-and-dagger culture once hidden behind a mythical curtain. This book is much more than a mere exercise in myth busting. Paired with its contextual and intrinsic complexities, Letters From Alcatraz grants listeners privileged access to the formidable confinement conditions endured by these inmates along with their compelling portraits, and a thorough overview of the rich history of Alcatraz Island. The depth of feeling in its story, its setting, its cast, and sheer inimitability, these are their lives in prose and the stories of the forgotten....